If you are looking for an interesting read, try ”Yankee Modern: The Houses of Estes/Twombly”. Recently Senior Editor Paula M. Bodah reviewed the new book that showcases the work of Newport, Rhode Island-based architects Estes/Twombly. It is interesting to read that the writer Howard Mansfield called the homes designed by James Estes and Peter Twombly “un-Mansions”. What the New Hampshire–based writer means by that term is to contrast it with “ McMansions”, which are those  mega-houses that quickly increased during the last decade or two of the 1900s, when volume was seemed to have too often prevailed over quality.

It’s true that Estes/Twombly houses tend to be modest in size and free of superfluous adornment. They’re deceptively simple-looking with their weathered shingles, white trim and occasional use of rugged New England-quarried stone. But stop and look at the homes featured in Yankee Modern: The Houses of Estes/Twombly and you realize these not-so-big houses are enormous examples of ingenuity, efficiency and intelligence. - Paula M. Bodah

There are a number of photos included in the book from New England photographers plus essays by William Morgan. Each of the homes represent how beautifully the traditional and the contemporary come together in what Mansfield calls a “regional style that works both practically and spiritually.”